Radical Game Design
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Critical Play Radical Game Design Mary Flanagan The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any elec- tronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales pro- motional use. For information, please email [email protected] .edu or write to Special Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Janson and Rotis Sans by Graphic Composition, Inc., Bogart, Geor- gia, and was printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Flanagan, Mary, 1969– Critical play : radical game design / Mary Flanagan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-06268-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Games—Design and construction. 2. Games—Sociological aspects. 3. Art and popular culture. I. Title. GV1230.F53 2009 794.8Ј1536—dc22 2008041726 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Index Abbot, Berenice, 132 Advance and Retreat (game), 78 Abbott, Anne W., 78 Africa, 84– 85, 102 Abstract Expressionism, 168 Agency, 3, 7, 13 Abu Rawash, 65 board games and, 73, 92, 96, 104, 111, Achitiv, Romy, 145 116 Acker, Kathy, 157 defi ned, 116 Activison, 48 design and, 225, 229, 232– 233 Activist games, 13– 14, 265n43. See also home environment and, 35, 41, 45 Subversion locative games and, 190, 206 board games and, 85– 88, 102– 103 performance and, 178, 184 computer games and, 236– 249 Agitprop, 102 Darfur genocide and, 245–247 Agriculture, 69– 70 Fluxus and, 102– 103 Ahasuerus, 81 gender and, 141– 148, 180– 181 AIDS, 246 language games and, 118– 123, 141– 148 ’Ain Ghazal, 64 New Games Movement and, 183– 190 Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt, 21 obscenity and, 119 Albert, Prince Consort, 73 performance and, 15, 179–183, 189 (see Alcools (Apollinaire), 127 also Performance) Alea (game), 66 rise of serious games and, 243– 249 Alea Evangelii, 71 Rwanda and, 241– 243 Aleph, El (Borges), 227 serious games and, 243– 249 Alice in Wonderland (Carroll), 122, 276n16 Take Action Now button and, 246 All White Chess Set (Ono), 112 technology and, 225 Alphonso, 107 terrorist policy and, 239– 243 Al Qaeda, 238, 241 as triggers of discussion, 249 Alternate Reality Games, 197 use of Go and, 105– 106 Ambiguity of Play, The (Sutton- Smith), 5, Values at Play project and, 241, 290n40, 266n2 291n5 American Antiquarian Society, 77 | 320 | | America’s Army (game), 178, 233 Fluxus and, 88, 96– 105 (see also Fluxus) Anagrams (game), 78 Futurism and, 89, 129, 151– 152 Index Ancient Mariner, 81 game houses and, 47–52 Anderson, Margaret, 131– 132 Go and, 105–107 Anemic Cinema (Man Ray), 125 Gutai movement and, 165– 169 Anglo- Saxons, 71 imposition of assumptions and, 251– 252 Anspach, Ralph, 87– 88 interventions and, 11– 13 Anthony, Scott, 12 language games and, 138– 139 Anthropology, 4– 5, 20, 260– 261 material words and, 141–148 child- like state and, 138 as medium of expression, 4 dollhouses and, 28– 32 methodological issues and, 251– 262 role of leisure and, 25 motivations for, 3– 4 The Sims and, 48–61 peepshow boxes and, 19–21 spirituality and, 67– 73 performance and, 151–152 (see also Anti- Monopoly (game), 14, 87– 88 Performance) Anti- Semitism, 81, 83 play perspective on, 2– 4 Antonisse, Jamie, 241 politics and, 2 Anubis, 68 premise of interrogation and, 286n38 Apolinère Enameled (Duchamp), 124 readymade objects and, 10, 124, 132, 153, Apollinaire, Guillaume, 124, 127, 129, 135, 157, 170, 280n17 148 Renaissance and, 17– 18 Arabs, 66, 107 Rococco, 17, 21– 25 Aragon, Louis, 89 rules and, 150– 151 Aristotle, 25, 244 self- expression and, 152 Armstrong, Francis, 27, 30 Situationists and, 170, 182, 194– 197, 201, Arp, Jean, 89, 129, 153, 280n18 204, 207– 208 Ars Electronica, 199 spirituality and, 152 Art subversion and, 10– 13 anticommodity and, 201–202 Suprematists and, 180 automatism and, 89, 127– 138 Surrealists and, 41– 47, 89 (see also board games and, 88– 105 Surrealists) chance and, 89 systematization of, 90, 153 chess and, 107–116 technology and, 7– 10 cinema and, 151–152 thirdspace and, 253– 254 computer games and, 223– 249 Artangel, 103 Constructivism and, 21, 89, 129, 150 Artifi cial intelligence, 246 Dada and, 37– 38 (see also Dada) Art of Computer Game Design, The (Craw- design and, 10 (see also Design) ford), 6, 61, 244 dolls and, 37– 62 Asphalt Games, 198 Enlightenment and, 18– 21 Astrology, 69 | 321 | Atari, 10 Benjamin, Walter, 89, 193 | Athelstan, 71 Bennett, Jill, 104 Index Auctions, 12 Bennett, Stith, 63, 67– 68, 251 Aura (Symons), 191– 192, 197 Best, Elsdon, 67 Austin, R. G., 67 Best . Flame War . Ever (Stern), 233 Australia, 198 Bettelheim, Bruno, 25 Authors (game), 78 Beuys, Joseph, 170 Automatism, 14, 15, 89, 260 Bey, Hakim, 211, 213 language games and, 127– 138, 148 Bhabha, Homi, 221, 253 performance and, 157 Bhopal, India, 182– 183 Surrealist writing and, 134– 138 Bichelbaum, Andy, 182– 183 Avatars, 58– 59, 223 Big Urban Game (B.U.G.) (game), 198, Awari, 64 216– 217 Awase (matchings), 74 Bilal, Wafaa, 236– 238, 243 Bioshock (game), 223 Baader, Johannes, 131 Black Americans, 224 Babitz, Eve, 109 Black and White (game), 248 Backgammon, 66– 67, 71, 73, 107 Black Revolutionary Theatre (BRT), 12, Bagatelle, 94, 273n82 176 Baily, Chris, 241 Black Square (Malevich), 180 Ball, Hugo, 40, 129 Black Square on White (Ostojic), 180 Ball, Lilian, 105–106 Blast Theory, 189, 198–199 Balla, Giacomo, 152 Blind man’s bluff, 18 Ballinderry, 71 Blogs, 1, 56– 57, 241– 243 Bally, 94 Boal, Augusto, 204, 211, 245, 259 Bao, 64 “Board Game of the Gospel, The,” 71 Baraka, Amiri, 12, 176 Board games, 189, 273n82. See also specifi c Barbican Gallery, 180, 283n85 games Barderman, Joan, 176 abstract strategy and, 63–64 Barnes, Djuna, 43, 132, 136, 138 activist, 85– 88, 102– 103 Barthes, Roland, 180 agency and, 73, 92, 96, 104, 111, 116 Bartholomew, Terese Tse, 118 American, 77– 88 Barton, Robert, 87 ancient, 63– 73 Bateson, 5 artists and, 88– 105 Baudelaire, Charles, 118, 193 city as, 204 (see also Locative games) BBS communication, 27 Dada and, 88– 89 Beast, The (game), 197 educational, 75, 78– 80 Beidha, 64 epic, 73– 77 Bell (Tanaka), 166 everyday, 73– 78 Bellmer, Hans, 41–43, 58 fi rst patent for, 85 | 322 | | Board games (cont.) Book of Surrealist Games, A (Brotchie and Fluxus and, 96– 105, 112– 116 Gooding), 149, 157 Index fox games and, 73 Book of the Dead, 69 Great Depression and, 94– 96 Borges, Jorge Luis, 227 hard times and, 94– 96 Borione, Bernard Louis, 107 as ideological tools, 71, 73 Bosch, Hieronymus, 43 image- based, 74 Boxing, 17 imperfect information and, 64 Braderman, Joan, 12 incense and, 73 Braidotti, Rosi, 147, 242–243 mass production and, 63, 73, 77– 78, 81, Brand, Stewart, 183– 184 88, 94, 103 Brandub, 71 origins of, 67– 68 Braque, George, 152 perfect information and, 63– 65 Bread and Water (Knowles), 174 performance and, 177– 178 Breakfast in Fur (Oppenheim), 154 pornography and, 75, 77 Breasts of Tiresias, The: A Surrealist Drama printing and, 73– 75, 77 (Apollinaire), 135 psychology and, 88 Brecht, Bertolt, 244 racial issues and, 81, 83– 85 Brecht, George, 97– 101 religion and, 74– 75, 78 Breton, André, 63, 89–91, 128, 135, 156, ritual and, 68 162, 278n63 rules and, 63– 65, 68, 73, 78– 79, 87– 88, Bricolage, 284n7 94, 97, 102, 106– 107, 111– 113 Broeckmann, Andreas, 190 sculpture and, 92– 93 Brotchie, Alastair, 134, 149, 157 skill mastery and, 88 Bruegel, Pieter, 18 spatiality and, 63 Brumbaugh, Robert S., 66– 67 spiritual side of, 67– 73 Brunelleschi, Filippo, 19 subversion and, 88– 116 Buckner, 10 Surrealist, 88– 94, 108– 110 Buddhism, 74– 75 as systems for critical thinking, 93 Bulletin Board System (BBS), 226 Ta fl , 71– 73 Bulls and Bears: The Great Wall Street Game, trademark violations and, 87– 88 81 war and confl ict, 105– 116 Bureau of Surrealist Research, 89– 90 Board Game with Classifi cation of Desirable Buren, Daniel, 201 and Undesirable Things (Utagawa), 77 Burning Building, The (Grooms), 170 Bodies that Matter (Butler), 150 Burroughs, William, 157 Bogost, Ian, 84, 242 Busch, Akiko, 52 Bonanno, Mike, 182– 183 Bush, George H. W., 238 Bookchin, Natalie, 227– 232, 243 Bush, George W., 219– 220 Book of Chess (King Alphonso), 107 Bush, Vannevar, 9 Book of Repulsive Women, The (Barnes), 136 Business models, 12 | 323 | Butler, Judith, 11, 150, 221–222, 264n30 Cell Phone–Free Temporary Autonomous Zone | Butt, Danny, 207 (CFTAZ) (Souzis), 211, 213, 216 Index Celts, 70– 71, 73 Cadere, André, 176– 177 Center for Tactical Magic, 217 CADRE Laboratory for New Media, 218 Certeau, Michel de, 67, 182, 190–191, 194, Cage, John, 101, 109, 140, 170, 173, 221, 284n7 263n3 Chain drawing, 160 Cage, Xenia, 113 Chain Reaction (Smith), 210– 211 Cahun, Claude, 10, 43, 162–163, 185 Chance, 280n18 Caillois, Roger, 5, 20, 88, 186, 280n1 art and, 89 Calligrammes (Apollinaire), 127 automatism and, 134 Cambodia, 6 board games and, 67–68, 90 Cambridge, 71 chess and, 109 Campbell dolls, 30, 268n35 dice and, 107 Cancelled Confessions (Cahun), 163 language games and, 127 Can You See Me Now? (CYSMN) (game), performance and, 173 198– 199 Changeover units, 94, 96 Capitalism, 85– 88, 102, 264n28 Chaosmosis: An Ethico- Aesthetic Paradigm Capture games, 64 (Guattari), 117 Carambole with Pendulum (Orozco), 104 Chapman, Dinos, 43, 47, 58, 113 Cards Chapman, Jake, 43, 47, 58, 113 activist games